my muse.

Ahh, I've been super MIA this past week. A lot of personal stuff going on, stacked on top of hardcore jewelry making for my upcoming shows has been intense! I promise to get back to style posting asap. When I start to get a little overwhelmed by life in general, I like going back to a moment where I felt at peace & happy to calm my nerves. Sometimes that means looking at nostalgic childhood photos, or re-reading certain parts of a favorite book. Today it means taking a look at some photos from my trip to Paris last year with my dad.

As my graduation & birthday present, my parents brought me to my dreamland of baguettes, the Eiffel Tower, metro stations & French speaking Parisiens. Simply walking from one block to the next, I saw an entire world of inspiration that has since stayed with me. There's something different about European cities, especially Paris, in comparison to home. The buildings just have so much history embedded into them & they all look so majestic & antique. It's so beautiful.

store fronts are so pretty there.

breakfast of champions. 

Sacre Coeur - a gorgeous church that you need to climb many steps to reach.

Me in the metro.

Macarons. Oh so pretty... & delicious.

I'll post some more tomorrow!

Je te manque, Paris.

xx. Jillian

GIVEAWAY results!

The Boyish Chic Black Friday GIVEAWAY results are in!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated. You all ROCK.
I know that some of you had trouble commenting, but if you emailed me the correct info you were still entered into the drawing. To pick a winner, I put everyone's names in a spreadsheet (in the order that you entered) & used a random number generator to pick the lucky winner, which is....

Elisabeth!

Elisabeth, please email me with your full name & address to claim you prize.

Thanks, everyone!

xx.

dressing for reunions... stress free.

Thanksgiving time usually means reunion time, whether it's a family reunion, reunion with friends from your hometown or a school reunion. I had the latter this past weekend: 5 year high school reunion. (Man, I feel old saying that. Hahah.)

Dressing for a reunion with no dress code, I found out (frantically) this weekend is veeerrryyyy tricky. I didn't really have much time to shop (realized too late I should have done it online months ago) & I also had no idea what to wear. Do you wear a dress or jeans? Blouse or shirt? Pumps or boots? Normally, I have no problem with this kind of thing, but I think because I was going to see a lot of people I haven't seen since I was a teenager, it was a little more complicated. I've also changed/grown a lot since high school so I wanted to make an impression. A good one, at that.

I found the best way to go about this angst was to...

• Keep it simple. Don't want to look like you're trying too hard or look overdone. A good rule to go by  is to always take one accessory off before leaving your room.
• Keep it polished. Because you also don't want to look like a slop.
• Stay carefree & get ready with friends (that's what I did &, not only is it much more fun, but it also takes the edge off) or by listening to some kick ass music. This helps calm any nerves & also makes it easier to pick something out of your closet to wear when you absolutely despise everything that you own because nothing feels right (like I sometimes do).
• Wear something you're comfortable in. If you're uncomfortable in your dress, it'll show.
• Own it. This is so key because this makes or breaks style. If you rock your style with confidence, it really won't matter what you're wearing. Think about Gaga: some of the things she wears are just ridiculous, but because she owns it, her style totally works.

I did all of the above & it worked out so much better/easier than I had planned. I ended up rocking black jeans with an oversized, sparkly, burnt orange top that I wore off the shoulder. It felt comfortable & it felt like me. Even though I definitely think I could have worn something better / more figure flattering, I was happy feeling carefree about the outfit because that meant having more of a good time. I wore these Sam Edelmann pumps because how could I not? They added the extra 'umpf' to my outfit to take it from casual to somewhat dressy casual. Unfortunately, I meant to take photos, but we didn't end up having time to take any before we left - my bad. Wish I had some to share!

In the end, no matter what you wear, as long as it's comfortable & makes you feel good, you're bound to have a good time. Just remember: whatever you wear, be sure to rock it with confidence.

xx.

P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway for a gold feather necklace sponsored by Shabby Apple. You've got until tomorrow night at midnight to enter here!

Boyish Chic Black Friday GIVEAWAY - Extended!

I realize it is the holidays so I'm extending the Shabby Apple necklace giveaway until Cyber Monday! Enter before midnight on Monday & you'll be in the running for this sweet necklace. I'll announce the winner on Tuesday!

Good luck & spread the word to get more entries! Details on how to enter here.

xx. Jillian

BLACK FRIDAY SCORE!

Besides the giveaway from Shabby Apple happening now, I'm also giving you 10% off at my shop... cause I think you rock. Use code: HAPPYFRIDAY & get your holiday swag/gift giving on. Hurry, cause it ends at midnight!

Live in love,
xx. Jillian

Boyish Chic Black Friday GIVEAWAY

Thanksgiving has passed, but there's still much to be thankful for including (but not limited to) a STELLAR SHABBY APPLE GIVEAWAY! Yeahyuh!

The fabulous ladies over at Shabby Apple contacted me with this idea & I'm super psyched to bring it to you ladies & gents (dudes, think holiday gifts for the lovely ladies in your life...). I picked out this beautiful Light as a Feather necklace from their jewelry collection because it's unique & you can totally rock it boyish chic (like in the photo below with a pair of combat boots). At a value of $48, this necklace can be aaaaalllllll yours free just by doing a few simple steps.

Rules for entry:
Only open to U.S. residents. Sorry to those who live outside the U.S.! Next time hopefully <3.

Mandatory for entry:
1. You must be following this Boyish Chic blog
2. Like the Shabby Apple Facebook page
3. Comment below to say that you've done so (I'll also be double checking!)

Each of the following grants you one extra entry:
1. Follow Shabby Apple on Twitter. Comment below that you've done so.
2. Tweet this exact phrase: "Just entered the amazing @shabbyapple giveaway over at @myRemedydesign's style blog Boyish Chic. Enter http://goo.gl/SzqOR to win & RT!" //  & comment below to show that you've done so
3. Follow Shabby Apple's blog. Comment below that you've done so.

A huge thank you to Shabby Apple for making this giveaway possible!

Good luck to everyone & hope you're all having a safe, amazing Black Friday. 

Happy shopping winning!

xx. Jillian

my Remedy feature & giveaway!

The stellar TJ from Mr Taylor and His Lady is rockin' the rose quartz ring, similar to the amber ring (the rose quartz is not online yet, but you can certainly order it by emailing me at myremedydesign@gmail.com). my Remedy's doing a giveaway over on her blog & you can win a Flourish ring or tee, so go check it out! Good luck, ladies & gents!

xx. Jillian

Boyish Chic in Minneapolis: one skirt, two ways.

Kaitlyn & I had made a pretty awesome trip to Forever 21 on Saturday, which ended in us picking up some  sweet deals. We also landed eyes on the same skirt & decided we should totally both get it since it looked good on us both &, hey, we live in different time zones. Hahah. Then, Kay had the brilliant idea to do one skirt, two ways. Which is what we photographed to show here...

Top & skirt: Forever 21.

bracelet: my Remedy

Kaitlyn gave the skirt a more upscale, casual look with a pair of loafers (boyish) & this oversized, adorable top (chic!). Totally an outfit to go shopping in, dance around the park in or even go to work in (depending on where you work). Pair it with some jewelry & the outfit dresses right up.

Seriously loving this Minnie Mouse inspired top... and this rooftop!

 

top & skirt: Forever 21 // platforms: Jeffrey Campbell // hat: H&M // necklace: Kaitlyn's

 I paired my skirt with a tank top, sweet necklace & platform wedges. Couldn't go all feminine though, or I'd feel so out of place, so I had to pull in some more masculine accent. Enter, bowler hat.

Doing what we do best: being total dorks. Hahaha <3.

What do you think: are you diggin' our choices or not so much? How would you rock this skirt?

xx. Jillian

secret santa: blogger style!

Check this out: bloggers getting together to do a Secret Santa, cross country. Basically, once everyone signs up, Only a Flight Away will send your name out to a different blogger &, in turn, give you a blogger's name with a clue as to what they like. Then, you ship out a small $10 gift that you made/bought. I think this is a pretty sweet idea!Spread the word & join in.xx.

holiday yum.

My mom came home yesterday with a bunch of goodies from the Old German Bakery in Hoboken. She brought home some different breads & one of them, called sils broetlie is my favorite! So excited when she came home with them. They were too nicely made to not photograph. I added in some chestnuts because their coloring is gorgeous: a deep, mahogany reddish-brown.


We used to get roasted chestnuts in the streets - kind of like the nut carts in NYC, if you've seen those - when we walked around Bern, Switzerland when I was way young. Have you ever had roasted chestnuts? If not, you should definitely try them for the holidays. I made a tutorial on how to last year. Delicious, festive treat!

She also got & set up some really amazing flower trees. The red on these is incredible & they totally change the dynamic of the room. They also make me reaalllyyy in the mood for the holidays. Nice finds, Mom!

xx. Jillian

Boyish Chic in Minneapolis: Part Deux

My weekend in Minneapolis was a real refresher. Like I said before, spending time with someone who has got your back is a really calming feeling. Especially after this year, for me. 

Spotted this candle on Kaitlyn's kitchen table & thought it was pretty sweet. A good reminder to live in love... even when it's most difficult to.

Meet Betty - the second cat in the world that I've ever really liked (I'm much more of a dog person). She is suuuch a sweetheart & a nut; one minute she's hanging out & the next she's flipping backwards onto a sofa five feet away. Coolest cat ever. Plus, she held my hand, which I was  super surprised by and luckily moved fast enough to snap a photo of. Gave me a big smile.

On Friday, Kaitlyn went to work & I worked from her apartment & then strolled out to Dunn Brother's. It's a really sweet little place that feels like a Starbucks, but much more cozy - and, don't get me wrong, I looooove me some Starbucks. But, I have to say, it's really nice to have somewhere else to go once in a while that gives you the same relaxing, cozy feeling as Starbucks, but that isn't Starbucks. Back home, here in New Jersey, I don't have many other places nearby besides Dunkin' Donuts & I'd much rather sit in a Starbucks. Anyways, yummy coffee is always a good start to a day.

Yum! Craving one now...

Kaitlyn came home from work & we got ready to head out, which required turning off the TV, pumping some looouuuddd music & getting off the couch. Haha! We stopped being lazy & headed out for dinner - at like 9pm because it takes us both forever to get ready. Plus, she's got a pretty awesome closet of all kinds of stuff so I had fun rummaging through it with her.

She's so boyish chic. Double button downs - never thought of that before! But, loving it.

Now I'm craving sushi... dang!

The restaurant had some sweeeeet chandeliers.
They also had interesting taste in music: 
heard old school Mariah Carey, Seal, Grease & modern day radio pop. 
Didn't feel much like a sushi place... Haha.

Getting an education.

After dinner, we headed over to a restaurant/bar called Uptown Cafeteria for some drinks... and comic books! It was pretty awesome. Also, only place I've ever been to that serves COTTON CANDY (that wasn't a circus or fair)! SOOO COOL! Of course, we had to get it. It ended up being free because the cotton was lopsided on the stick & I guess that's not how they normally do it. Hey - we'll take it!!!

Straight up goofin'.

Saturday we got up & went to the Mall of America. Sunday we stayed close & just walked around her neighborhood. She lives in Uptown Minneapolis, which is kind of like a mini Hoboken. It's a younger crowd & has a lot of hip stores, including vintage ones. We hopped around & did some exploring... after coffee. Dunn Brothers... I'm hooked!

Kaitlyn's wearing a new top she scored at H&M and Eclectic from my first collection!

A sweet paper find.

Old school looking theater. So nostalgic.

How dope are these huge letters?!
leopard purse: H&M find from Saturday.

coat: Delia's // dress: Urban Outfitters // tights: Macy's

All these photos make me want to go back! I liked Minneapolis way more than I thought I would. I honestly didn't know what to expect because I've never been to Minnesota besides driving through a corner. It was way more like home than I thought it would be. I expected it to be more rural even in the city, but it really wasn't. Kind of cool how sometimes you can be somewhere and it could look as if you're anywhere in the world. A girl can dream...

xx. Jillian